Central and Eastern Europe is at a cross roads; the choices made over the next few years are going to determine the sustainability of future prosperity.

Over the last thirty years the rise in prosperity across Central and Eastern Europe has been truly remarkable. But as convergence with Western Europe has slowed over the last decade, less than 20% of the gap in prosperity has been closed, and serious questions now loom. Even so, the Legatum Institute believes that whatever path is followed the common foundations of prosperity, including: rule of law; government integrity and performance and an engaged citizenry are going to be critical to success. If the region were a single country, the average score in the Legatum Prosperity Index would now rank it at 38th in the world. Long-term prosperity is ever more dependent on creating the conditions that develop, attract, retain, and welcome home, highly skilled citizens.

Recent Publications

Our CEO, Philippa Stroud established the Social Metrics Commission with the sole aim of developing new measures of poverty for the UK. The need for an independent Commission was clear; much of the last decade of political and policy debate on poverty has focussed on whether and how we should measure poverty, rather than the action needed to drive better outcomes for the most disadvantaged in our society. If this is to change, developing a metric is not enough; we also need to be able to use it to build a new consensus around poverty measurement and action in the UK.

This report is the culmination of two and a half years of work from our Social Metrics Commissioner which is made up of top thinkers from the left and right and policy and measurement experts with no political position. It outlines a new approach to poverty measurement for the UK and provides original analysis that demonstrates the fundamental changes to our understanding of poverty it creates. Most importantly, the approach, results and recommendations in this report are supported by every Commissioner. They truly represent a consensus view of how we should measure and understand the incidence of poverty in the UK and the experiences of those who are in poverty.

The generation currently finishing their education has great potential. However, their ability to realise their potential is being threatened. Though today’s young people are less likely to be taking drugs, committing crime and getting pregnant than prior generations, Britain has an adolescent mental health crisis. This stage of life is when people are particularly susceptible to the development of mental health issues, with most adult mental illness starting during adolescence.

Our prosperity as a nation is dependent on the wellbeing of all its members. Furthermore, the journey of people out of poverty towards prosperity depends on ensuring this next generation emerges as a thriving cohort. Their employment prospects and collective contribution to society are dependent on their wellbeing.

While many organisations are working on the ground to increase awareness, diagnosis and support for young people, the public policy debate is lagging behind these efforts. In response, this report intends to contribute to understanding young people and the challenges they face.

We are facing a moment of profound change, which demands a more coherent look at our governance and a better approach to empowering individuals and communities, who we believe should be at the heart of politics.

However, centrally-mandated policies are delivering public services with little input from local communities. Just as they can send signals through market mechanisms in the private sector, people want choices in public service delivery in order to feel in charge of their lives and have a say on how their taxes are spent. This matters because prosperity results from good governance. And good governance requires legitimacy, accountability, transparency, and responsiveness.

For democracy to work, individuals need to have confidence that government decisions are made because they are good for them and their communities. Most of our lives are spent as part of communities, which show their strength by being resilient and adaptable. Empowering people is at the heart of strengthening communities and society.

We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record, as individuals seek to create their own pathways from poverty to prosperity. For far too many, these are journeys not of opportunity but of necessity. People undertaking these so-called 'irregular' journeys are remarkably vulnerable. They are likely to face exploitation at the hands of human traffickers, who generate more than $150 billion in illegal profits each year. Worse still, they may find themselves trapped in a world of modern slavery and sexual exploitation from which they are unable to escape. They are unprotected, accumulate debt, and have no legal recourse.

This phenomenon requires an urgent response. To date, we lack the data to form an accurate appraisal of the motivations behind these extraordinary journeys, and the risks faced by those undertaking them. The purpose of this initial report, the first of three to be published this year, is to produce a data-driven overview of the current landscape of global migration, which will in turn support the Legatum Institute’s commitment to identifying solutions that would assist necessity-driven migrants, refugees and victims of trafficking.

The foundation

The Legatum Institute Foundation is a registered charity (number 1140719), and a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England and Wales (company number 7430903), registered address 11 Charles Street, London, W1J 5DW